U.S. patent application number 12/196100 was filed with the patent office on 2009-04-30 for game ball.
Invention is credited to Takehiko Kobayashi, Takehiko Nishide, Hironobu Yamamoto.
Application Number | 20090111619 12/196100 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40583579 |
Filed Date | 2009-04-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090111619 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kobayashi; Takehiko ; et
al. |
April 30, 2009 |
GAME BALL
Abstract
The invention provides a game ball, useful for children's
safety, which can be detected far enough away a distance by a
vehicle-onboard radar. The invention provides a game ball wherein a
reflector member 12 is disposed within a spherical shell 13, the
diagonal distance of the reflector member coincides with the inner
diameter of the spherical shell, the reflector member has a shape
constructed by combining three regular polygon plates 11A, 11B,
11C, the center angle of one side thereof being an integral
submultiple of 90.degree., in such a manner that the centers of the
three regular polygon plates are coincident and that the three
regular polygon plates are perpendicular to each other, and a
surface of said reflector member 12 is imparted with
electromagnetic wave reflectivity.
Inventors: |
Kobayashi; Takehiko; (Tokyo,
JP) ; Yamamoto; Hironobu; (Tokyo, JP) ;
Nishide; Takehiko; (Tokyo, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FOLEY & LARDNER LLP
150 EAST GILMAN STREET, P.O. BOX 1497
MADISON
WI
53701-1497
US
|
Family ID: |
40583579 |
Appl. No.: |
12/196100 |
Filed: |
August 21, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/569 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 43/06 20130101;
A63B 43/00 20130101; A63B 43/008 20130101; A63B 43/004
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
473/569 |
International
Class: |
A63B 43/00 20060101
A63B043/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 31, 2007 |
JP |
2007-283385 |
Claims
1. A game ball, wherein a reflector member is disposed within a
spherical shell, the reflector member has a shape constructed by
combining three regular polygon plates or circular plates of
identical size, the center angle of one side of the three regular
polygon plates being an integral submultiple of 90.degree., in such
a manner that the centers of the three regular polygon plates or
circular plates are coincident and that the three regular polygon
plates or circular plates are perpendicular to each other, and a
surface of the reflector member is imparted with electromagnetic
wave reflectivity.
2. The game ball according to claim 1, wherein the reflector member
is a conductor, a substrate which has a surface covered by a
conductor, or a conductive net having apertures not greater than
0.5 mm.
3. The game ball according to claim 1, wherein the spherical shell
and the reflector member are made of a rubber pliable material.
4. A game ball, wherein octant sections are obtained by forming a
bisection of a sphere along a horizontal direction in the center of
the sphere, and forming a quadrisection of the hemispheres along a
vertical direction, a conductive cover is applied to each of three
division surfaces on an outer surface excluding a spherical surface
of the octant sections, the eight octant sections are combined into
the sphere, and the sections are bonded together.
5. The game ball according to claim 4, wherein the sphere is made
of a rubber pliable material.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No.
2007-283385, filed on Oct. 31, 2007, is expressly incorporated
herein by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Technical Field
[0003] The present invention relates to a game ball having radar
reflectivity.
[0004] 2. Related Art
[0005] There seems to be no end to unhappy automobile accidents
caused by a child bursting into a road while engrossed in chasing a
rolling game ball. The number of these accidents can be reduced by
making the ball easier to be perceived earlier by the driver, even
in dark roads, by imparting the surface of the ball with optical
reflectivity and/or fluorescence, thus causing the ball to stand
out In the light projected by headlights. Relying only on visual
perception by the driver, however, is problematic in that seeing
the ball is difficult when the latter is not far enough away and/or
when visibility is poor.
[0006] Vehicle-onboard radars developed in recent years are being
installed in ever more automobiles. Imparting radar reflectivity to
a game ball allows the ball to be detected from far enough away by
the vehicle-onboard radar of a running automobile when a game ball
rolls into a poor-visibility road such as an alley and the like.
The radar cross section afforded by just making the surface of the
ball conductive, however, is small, and thus hard to detect by a
vehicle-onboard radar. It is therefore necessary to provide the
game ball with a large enough radar cross section. However, no game
balls having a sufficiently large radar cross section, easy to
detect by vehicle-onboard radars, have been known thus far.
[0007] Meanwhile, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.
2000-280980, for instance, discloses a rescue implement for
vessels, comprising a black ball having a built-in reflector of
large radar cross section. This conventional technology, however,
is a rescue implement for vessels, which is a different technical
field from game balls.
SUMMARY
[0008] In the light of the above problems of conventional
technology, it is an object of the present invention to provide a
game ball, useful for children's safety, which can be detected from
far enough away by a vehicle-onboard radar.
[0009] The present invention is a game ball, wherein a reflector
member is disposed within a spherical shell, the reflector member
has a shape constructed by combining three regular polygon plates
or circular plates of identical size in such a manner that the
centers of the three regular polygon plates or circular plates are
coincident and that the three regular polygon plates or circular
plates are perpendicular to each other. The center angle of one
side of the three regular polygon plates is an integral submultiple
of 90.degree.. A surface of the reflector member is imparted with
electromagnetic wave reflectivity.
[0010] In the game ball of the above invention, the reflector
member may be a conductor, a substrate which has a surface covered
by a conductor, or a conductive net having apertures not greater
than 0.5 mm.
[0011] Further, in the game ball of the above Invention, the
spherical shell and the reflector member may be made of a rubber
pliable material.
[0012] The present invention is also a game ball which has octant
sections that are obtained by forming a bisection of a sphere along
a horizontal direction in the center of the sphere, and forming a
quadrisection of the hemispheres along a vertical direction. A
conductive cover is applied to each of three division surfaces on
an outer surface excluding a spherical surface of the octant
sections. The eight octant sections are combined into the sphere,
and the sections are bonded together.
[0013] In the game ball of the above invention, the sphere may be
made of a rubber pliable material.
[0014] In the present invention, a spherical shell has built
therein a reflector member whose surface is imparted with
electromagnetic wave reflectivity. The shape of the reflector
member is constructed by combining three regular polygon plates or
circular plates of identical size, the center angle of one side of
the three regular polygon plates being an integral submultiple of
90.degree., in such a manner that the centers of the three plates
are coincident and that the three plates are perpendicular to each
other. Therefore, the resulting ball can comprise a spherical shell
having built therein eight corner reflectors providing large radar
cross section. This allows realizing a game ball having a radar
cross section large enough to be easily detectable by a
vehicle-onboard radar.
[0015] In the present invention, moreover, a conductive cover is
applied to each of three division surfaces on the outer surface,
excluding a spherical surface, of octant sections of a sphere, and
the eight octant sections are combined into a sphere. Therefore,
the resulting ball can comprise a spherical shell having built
therein eight corner reflectors of large radar cross section. This
allows realizing a game ball having a radar cross section large
enough to be easily detectable by a vehicle-onboard radar.
Moreover, a ball can formed by combining the octant sections into
an eight-section assembly, and thus the game ball can be easily
manufactured.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 is a partial cutaway perspective-view diagram of a
game ball according to a first embodiment of the present
invention.
[0017] FIG. 2 is a perspective-view diagram of a reflector member
built into the game ball of the embodiment.
[0018] FIG. 3 is a perspective-view diagram illustrating a
modification of the reflector member built into the game ball of
the embodiment.
[0019] FIG. 4 is a perspective-view diagram illustrating another
modification of the reflector member built into the game ball of
the embodiment.
[0020] FIG. 5 is a partial cutaway perspective-view diagram of a
game ball according to a second embodiment of the present
invention, and a perspective-view diagram of a partial section of
the game ball.
DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
[0021] Embodiments of the present invention are explained next with
reference to accompanying drawings.
First Embodiment
[0022] A game ball 1 according to a first embodiment of the present
invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The
game ball 1 of the present embodiment has a spherical shell 13 and
a reflector member 12 which is disposed within the spherical shell
13. The reflector member 12 has a shape which is constructed by
combining three square plates of identical size, as regular polygon
plates 11A, 11B, 11C, the center angle of one side of the three
regular polygon plates being an integral submultiple of 90.degree.,
in such a manner that the centers of the three regular polygon
plates are coincident and that the three regular polygon plates are
perpendicular to each other. The diagonal distance of the reflector
member 12 substantially coincides with the inner diameter of the
spherical shell 13.
[0023] The reflector member 12 is either a metal plate, a
conductive resin plate, a mesh plate of metal or conductive resin
plate having apertures of no greater than about 0.5 mm, or a fabric
or a rubber pliable material that is attached with aluminum film,
coating with a conducting material, or applied with a conductive
material through, for instance, vapor deposition or the like. The
reflector member 12 has electromagnetic wave reflectivity. The
three regular polygon plates 11A, 11B, 11C form as a result four
corner reflectors 12A, 12B, 12C, . . . offset from each other by
90.degree. around a vertical axis, on the upper side and the lower
side of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.
[0024] The reflector member 12 may be the end result from putting
together the three regular polygon plates 11A, 11B, 11C in such a
manner that the latter are perpendicular to each other. Herein, the
constitution of the components of the reflector member 12 is not
particularly limited, provided that the assembly of the multiple
components yields shapes such as those illustrated in the figures.
For instance, members equivalent to the above-described four corner
reflectors 12A, 12B, 12C, 12D may be joined together to be arranged
as illustrated in FIG. 1. Alternatively, four reflector plates
shaped as isosceles right triangles may be arranged on, and joined
to, the front and reverse faces, respectively, of one horizontal
square plate as the regular polygon plate 11C.
[0025] The spherical shell 13 is made of a material that can be
used in children's games, for instance a rubber pliable material,
or a plastic pliable material. The reflector member 12 is held in a
suspended state, inside the interior of the spherical shell 13, by
way of fixing cords 15, each of which is connected to one of the 6
apexes of the reflector member 12, to adhesive pieces 16, each of
which is provided at six points, corresponding to the 6 apexes of
the reflector member 12, on the inner surface of the spherical
shell 13. The reflector member 12 becomes supported inside the
spherical shell 13 in a suspended state, as illustrated in FIG. 1,
when the spherical shell 13 of the game ball 1 of the present
embodiment swells to a spherical shape by being filled with
air.
[0026] The game ball 1 of the present embodiment affords the
following advantages. For instance, in a soccer ball size having a
diameter of 20 cm, the reflector member 12 yields a radar cross
section of about 50 m.sup.2 (frequency 76 GHz). This value is
roughly identical to the radar cross section offered by the rear of
a medium-sized motorcycle. Further, in a softball size having a
diameter of 10 cm, the reflector member 12 yields a radar cross
section of about 7 m.sup.2 (frequency 76 GHz). For a soccer ball
size, a vehicle-onboard radar can detect the ball at a point
distant by about 100 m, and at a point distant by about 60 m for a
softball size. The corner reflectors 12A, 12B, 12C, . . . are
disposed, above and below, offset from each other by equal angles,
to yield a structure comprising a built-in eight-section body. As a
result, the structure can be acquired by radar regardless of the
rotational attitude of the ball.
[0027] In the present invention, the reflector member 12 built into
the spherical shell 13 may also be obtained by combining three
octagonal plates 21A, 21B, 21C, as the regular polygon plates, in
such a manner that the centers of the three plates are coincident
and that the three plates are perpendicular to each other, as
illustrated in FIG. 3. Alternatively, dodecagonal or hexadecagonal
plates may also be used in the reflector member 12. The reflector
member 12 built into the spherical shell 13 may also be obtained by
combining three circular plates 31A, 31B, 31C, the centers of the
three plates being coincident, in such a manner that the three
plates are perpendicular to each other, as illustrated in FIG.
4.
Second Embodiment
[0028] A game ball 1A of a second embodiment of the present
invention is explained next with reference to FIG. 5. The game ball
1A of the present embodiment is made of a lightweight material such
as styrene foam, a rubber pliable material, foamed rubber or the
like, and the material is transparent to radar waves. Octant
sections 41 are obtained by forming a bisection of a sphere along a
horizontal direction in the center of the sphere, and forming a
quadrisection of the hemispheres along a vertical direction. A
conductive cover 43 is applied to each of three division surfaces
42A, 42B, 42C on an outer surface excluding a spherical surface of
the octant sections. The eight octant sections 41 are combined into
the sphere, and are covered with a skin 44 of pliable plastic,
rubber or leather, to yield a ball.
[0029] As is the case in the first embodiment, in the game ball 1A
of the present embodiment corner reflectors are likewise formed by
the conductive cover 43 that is formed on the three divisional
surfaces 42A, 42B, 42C, perpendicular to each other, of the outer
surface of each octant section 41, excluding the spherical surface
thereof. A radar cross section of about 50 m.sup.2 (frequency 76
GHz) is obtained for a soccer ball size having a diameter of 20 cm,
while a radar cross section of about 7 m.sup.2 (frequency 76 GHz)
is obtained for a softball size having a diameter of 10 cm.
Moreover, the octant sections 41 yield a structure comprising a
built-in eight-section body. As a result, the ball can be acquired
by radar regardless of the rotational attitude of the ball.
Moreover, a structure in which eight octant sections 41 are
combined into a sphere, the skin 43 whereof is then covered, is
easy to realize, which is advantageous.
* * * * *